Just an hour into NBA free agency on Monday night, Golden State Warriors fans received heartbreaking news from ESPN Insider Shams Charania. According to Charania, Kevon Looney agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, ending a successful 10-year stint with the Warriors.
The former UCLA Bruin was drafted at the beginning of the Warriors dynasty in 2015-16, but only played in 58 games his first two seasons because of double hip surgery. After becoming healthy, Looney became a crucial part of the offense, playing around eighteen to twenty minutes a game in every postseason except for last year. The 6’9″ center won three championships in Golden State in 2017, 2018, and 2022, and was a key part of the 2019 championship run until he suffered fractured costal cartilage that took him almost two months to recover from.
His teammate, Draymond Green, had high praise for the way Looney battled through injury during his career.
One of Looney’s most underrated postseasons came in 2023, where he averaged 6.5 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on 57.8 percent shooting from the field. That year, he had four games of 20+ rebounds in the playoffs, and one the year prior when the Warriors won in 2022.
The historic run of crashing the glass in 2022 and 2023 led to Looney cementing himself in NBA history. The fan favorite has the most games in the playoffs with four or fewer points and 20+ rebounds, surpassing the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Dennis Rodman.
For Looney, his entire career was built on grit, hustle, and outworking his opponents. To say that he will have a statue outside of Chase Center is unlikely, but every Warrior fan knows just how valuable he was to the three championships that he helped win. Now in New Orleans, Looney gets to pair back up with former Warriors teammate Jordan Poole, with whom he won a championship alongside in 2022.
With the loss of Looney, the Warriors now have one true center in Quinten Post (7’0″) on their roster, along with Green, who is 6’9″. The focus for General Manager Mike Dunleavy now shifts to acquiring a center and trying to re-sign Jonathan Kuminga.
The 22-year-old is coming off his best postseason with the Warriors, where he averaged 15.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 48.4 percent shooting from the field. The playoffs were tricky for Kuminga, who saw limited play time until the injuries to Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry. Without the team’s star players, the athletic young forward thrived, and now believes he is worth more than the $7.9 million qualifying offer that the Warriors extended to him.
Golden State has the opportunity to match any offer that other teams make for Kuminga, but it is a matter of whether or not they are willing to pay to keep him on the roster. It would be another harsh blow to the rotation to lose both Kuminga and Looney in the same offseason. According to Anthony Slader of The Athletic, Dunleavy has expressed interest in resigning Kuminga “sooner rather than later.” Still, Kuminga’s side wants to explore all options before returning to the Warriors.
The Warriors have a tall task to fill the defensive and rebounding presence that was left in the rotation after the absence of Looney. Dunleavy’s two priorities should be resigning Kuminga, finding another quality center at a reasonable price, and potentially signing another star player to pair alongside Curry, Butler, and Green, if the Warriors want to make one final championship run.
If you love sports, download Stadium Rant from the Apple App Store and join one of the fastest-growing social sports communities. Be sure to follow us on socials too — you can find all our profiles on our Linktree.
